Several groups are teaming up to sponsor a forum on Friday for candidates running for Cincinnati City Council.

So far, seven candidates — including one incumbent — have indicated they will attend the session. They are Councilman Wendell Young, a Democrat; Nicholas Hollan, Jason Riveiro, Chris Seelbach and P.G. Sittenfeld, also Democrats; and Kevin Flynn and Yvette Simpson, who are Charterites.

Fueled
by corporate donations, ALEC is credited with working quietly behind
the scenes to draft legislation that can then be introduced by
elected state lawmakers. Among its efforts, ALEC spearheaded the push
in Ohio, Wisconsin and elsewhere to introduce bills that limited or
abolished collective bargaining rights for public-sector labor
unions.

The
membership list that contains the names of the roughly 2,000 state
legislators and about 300 private-sector supporters who belong to
ALEC is kept confidential.

State
Sen. Bill Seitz (R-Green Township), who sits on ALEC's board of
directors, noted in the CityBeat article that the identity of its
sponsors aren't kept secret. They include the American Petroleum
Institute, R.J.
Reynolds Tobacco Co., Coors and the National Rifle Association.

Now
with the help of Aliya Rahman,
an activist based at Miami University in Oxford who organized the
Cincinnati protest, The
Nation
magazine has obtained more than 800 documents representing decades of
ALEC's model legislation. The treasure trove of materials is featured in The
Nation's Aug. 1-8 issue, which currently is on sale.

[UPDATE: Read more about Rahman's path to unearthing the documents here.]

In conjunction with the Center for Media and Democracy, The Nation asked policy experts to analyze this never-before-seen archive.

As
The
Nation's
John Nichols writes, “Inspired by Milton Friedman’s call for
conservatives to 'develop alternatives to existing policies (and)
keep them alive and available,' ALEC’s model legislation reflects
long-term goals: downsizing government, removing regulations on
corporations and making it harder to hold the economically and
politically powerful to account. Corporate donors retain veto power
over the language, which is developed by the secretive task forces.”

A Hamilton County commissioner and several local residents will get some major help in collecting signatures as part of their effort to create an admissions tax for Bengals and Reds games.

The Baptist Ministers Conference voted today to endorse the petition initiative sought by the Citizens’ League Against Subsidized Sports (CLASS Action). The latter group was formed in May to consider methods for ending the burden on county services caused by the subsidies needed to operate Paul Brown Stadium and Great American Ball Park.

Amid the recent controversy about possibly adding more publicly subsidized housing for the poor in Green Township, local Republicans will hold a special forum tonight to discuss methods for blocking the expansion.

A bipartisan political action committee (PAC) that lobbies for “fair and just immigration laws” has selected Butler County's outspoken sheriff as one of 10 U.S. politicians inducted into itsnewly created Hall of Shame for local officials across the nation.

Immigrants' List saysSheriff Richard K. Jones was selected because the conservative Republican exploits fear and misinformation to make headlines and further his political ambitions.

Local and national leaders working to advance equal rights for LGBT people will gather tonight in Covington to unveil a national award in honor of the late Nancy Minson.

The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force and the Cincinnati Women's Political Caucus is co-sponsoring “Light of One, Power of Many: A Night to Honor Nancy Minson.” The event will be held at The Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center in Covington, and begins with a reception at 6 p.m.

Just a few weeks after leaving office, ex-Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is trying to raise awareness about a political action committee (PAC) she helped create while campaigning last year for the U.S. Senate nomination.

Courage PAC is designed to increase grassroots advocacy and citizen activism on several issues, and perform a watchdog role on Ohio government now that Republicans fill most statewide offices.

A major effort is underway today to urge Congressman Steve Chabot (R-Westwood) to buck his GOP colleagues and vote against repealing the health-care reform law.

A national group, Catholics United, is placing about 6,000 telephone calls to Catholics who live in Ohio's 1st Congressional District, that contains a recorded message asking them to have Chabot vote “no” on repealing health-care reform. The GOP leadership is expected to bring up the repeal bill, H.R. 2, on Wednesday for a vote by the U.S. House of Representatives.

Tomorrow is International Human Rights Day and the event will be commemorated locally with a march to several local offices, urging state and federal policymakers to reduce deficits through other means than hurting the poor, the disabled, children and the elderly.